Statement issued by the Scientific Information Policy Board on Monday 18 June 2007 and approved by the Director General.

CERN has a scientific and cultural heritage stretching back to the Organization's foundation in 1954 and embodied not only in its scientific works, but also in its scientific instruments and other objects. These have been produced at CERN, as well as in collaborating institutes around the world, and many are of historical importance. Working with the originating institutes, it is CERN's policy, within the available resources, to identify and preserve the most important of these for posterity, to put them on public display where possible at CERN, and to make them available on loan to science museums and scholars of the history of science. The body charged with selecting which objects to preserve is the SIPB, drawing on expert advice both from within and outside the Organization. Following preparation for use as display items by the technical Departments concerned, selected objects become the property of the CERN Communication group (DG-CO), which has responsibility for their management. For more information please contact library.desk@cern.ch